Escorted Tours to Italy

2020 - 2021

NOBILITY OF THIS LAND OF ART, CASTLES AND VINEYARDSWINE TASTING TOUR IN THE RAGUSA REGION OF SICILY
Dates: 17 - 22 September 2020
Destination: Ragusa Region of Sicily, Italy
Description: The Tour visits the South East corner of Sicily, a beautiful, unspoilt region. Backed by the Iblei Mountains which descend gently south to the sea, they are ideal for wine production and the region has some of the best vineyards in Sicily. With viniculture going back to Greek and Roman Times, our visits to some vineyards combine excellent wines with some outstanding historical sites.
Our hotel Relais Parco Cavalonga is an elegant 4 star (commented in one review as a 4 star hotel with all the attributes of 5 stars) set in its own park of 18 hectares and is central to this beautiful and historic region of Sicily.

TOURING RAPHAEL’S ROME
COMMEMORATING THE ARTIST’S DEATH ON 19 MARCH
Dates: 9 - 13 October 2020
Destination: Rome, Italy
Description: The Tour will concentrate on revisiting Raphael’s places and life in 15 C. Rome and review our understanding of artists and patrons in what was then the Capital of Arts, Religion and Politics in the Italian Peninsula. We will try to capture all sides of Raphael’s Art in Rome where, after his arrival between 1507/8, he acted as Painter and Decorator for Pope Julius II (della Rovere) and after Pope Julius’s death of Pope Leo X (Medici), in the Vatican Palace. In 1514 Raphael was nominated by Leo X architect of St Peter but as aid to its main architect Bramante. In the summer of this very year he was promoted to full architect after the death of Bramante, his great friend and teacher.

Artstur arranges a variety of 4 or 5 day tours to Italy. These are small group tours and the objective of each tour is to appreciate the art and culture of the country in a way that allows the visitor to enjoy the history and current way of life in Italy. Italy’s beauty and Joie de vivre are captured in our tours and lift the spirits of all those in the group.

The guides are all English speaking art historians or archeologists who know and love the places visited. Their enthusiasm is quickly transmitted to those attending.